Why having sex really IS the best thing to do

[n2doc]

8 April 2012 Last updated at 19:37 ET

Gene theory 'may explain' courtship rituals
Attracting a mate can produce benefits for a species in the long term, a study has suggested.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh concluded that animals and plants which reproduce sexually are at a considerable advantage over species which reproduce without a partner.

They said this could explain why many species find demanding courtship rituals worth the time and effort.

The study examined sexual reproduction in fruit flies.

Researchers wanted to learn more about how DNA was randomly shuffled when the genes of two parents combined to create a new individual.
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[gateley]

1. Like we needed the University of Edinburgh to tell us that. nt

[elleng]

4. So silly, gate!!!

[cindyperry2010]

2. i vote yes

[Lint Head]

3. My M.D. told me it's great for the prostate gland.

He said 98% of the incidences he sees of enlarged prostates in young men are the ones that have been married for a short time and they are having sex less often or just do not have a lot of sex. He said masturbation helps but nothing is better for health than the real thing.

Loved that doctor.

[mike_c]

5. in all seriousness, if sex were significantly better than asexual reproduction...

...then asexual propagation would not be so highly conserved. The truth is that BOTH methods have distinct advantages, keeping them both favored by natural selection so well that neither can out compete the other. Asexual reproduction builds populations FAST, copying and preserving proven successful genomes. For many organisms, that speed and copy fidelity is key to long term persistence. Asexual reproduction is ideally suited for stable environments. Asexual reproducers maximize their reproductive fitness because they don't have to give up any of their offsprings' genomes to strangers. Something very like sexual gene recombination is often present too, like horizontal gene transfer, or ciliate conjugation.

Sexual reproduction provides an easier route to offspring with novel gene combinations. It is perhaps better suited for unstable habitats. It permits one partner to assess the fitness of other, potential partners to increase reproductive fitness, which in turn affects population genetics.

But really, if sexual reproduction were "better" than asexual, there wouldn't be so much binary fission and whatnot going on!

[Tumbulu]

6. agree (nt)

[HopeHoops]

7. The only reason I need is my wife.